


The Prince of Sturmhalten

by Atagotiak



Category: Girl Genius
Genre: Crack, RIP me I can never remember how to spell “Sturmvoraus”
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 15:00:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19478302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atagotiak/pseuds/Atagotiak
Summary: Hive engines, being as much biological as they are mechanical, require a steady supply of food to function. Since founding the empire Klaus has already found fifteen hives by following spikes in honey demand. He does not know what to make of this sudden, precipitous fall.





	The Prince of Sturmhalten

It had been a quiet week, in the empire. Klaus was only moderately overworked instead of severely. He had even found some time to spend with his son. 

While he still worries that telling Gilgamesh was too risky, nothing else would have convinced him that the risk of keeping the Sturmvoraus boy around was too great. And he cannot deny that it has been... nice. To spend time with the only family he has in Europa.

And Klaus could not be prouder of Gilgamesh. The boy seemed disheartened, at first - it is always stressful to discover that someone is not what they seemed. But Gilgamesh is a resilient boy, and even more than that. He’s a prodigy. Without the Sturmvoraus boy holding him back, Gilgamesh has gone into breakthrough. At the age of eight. Klaus has spent the entire afternoon with him, examining his breakthrough project, an arthropod construct, a tad crude, but no less impressive for it.

Still, Klaus’s work is never done. And he must always be vigilant. The Other may have disappeared, but nobody knows _where_ and ~~her~~ their technology remains scattered throughout the wastelands. There is no telling who remains in the Other’s service, or what arrogant fool will find an engine and attempt to use it for their own purposes.

And so, now that Gilgamesh has gone to sleep (Klaus expects him to sleep for a long time - the only thing more impressive than the frenetic energy of one’s first fugue is the crash after) Klaus goes back to work. As he takes a sip of tea (over-steeped and over-sweetened, he notes absently) he opens up the latest round of reports on possible Other activity.

... and finds he can’t make heads or tails of it. 

Hive engines, being as much biological as they are mechanical, require a steady supply of food to function. Since founding the empire Klaus has already found fifteen hives by following spikes in honey demand. He does not know what to make of a sudden, precipitous fall. It’s as if everyone in nearly two dozen communities has suddenly decided to go on a diet. And the problem is very much on the demand side instead of the supply - honey prices are a quarter of what they were even a month ago. This might not be a sign of Other activity but it certainly warrants investigation. Still he cannot suppress a groan when he sees the epicentre of the fall - Sturmhalten. He was planning on avoiding the town as much as possible, at least until he could be sure that Gilgamesh knew not to trust his former friend. 

Still, he allowed himself to indulge in a rare bit of optimism. Honey prices falling isn’t a _bad_ sign. Perhaps this will be something simple, like baklava falling out of fashion. The issue may even be resolved before the castle even comes close to Sturmhalten. There is no reason to assume this will be a lengthy investigation.

* * *

Of course things could never be so simple. The reports he receive in the next month as the castle goes on its slow trek towards Sturmhalten include strange explosions heard underground, the prince suddenly deciding the castle needs to be renovated, honeyed deserts appear to be as popular as they have always been in the region. (One of the reports included a sample, it was delicious) and most recently, an unannounced visit from the Valois matriarch. She was reportedly in remarkably high spirits the entire time, which was odd as she had never before enjoyed the company of her son-in-law. 

There was nothing for it. _Something_ was going on, and none of his spies had any useful answers. Klaus would have to investigate this personally. Of course while it must stay somewhat close for security purposes, he will be keeping the castle, and it’s inhabitants well away from Sturmhalten for the duration.


End file.
